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arubabookwoman

arubabookwoman

Joined March 2018

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Anagrams by Lorrie Moore
review
arubabookwoman
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Pickpick

This book is on its way to you @Kappadeemom . Sorry for the delay. I really enjoyed this story of Eva, a talented chef. While we really got to know her in the first few chapters, the majority of her story was told through the stories of other characters whose lives intersected with hers, sometimes only peripherally. I would have liked a more "interior" look at Eva, an interesting character to say the least. Still a pick. @Kimzey @Maggie4483

Maggie4483 Hi! I know this question is, like, SUPER late, but I was curious if this ever made it to you @kappadeemom ?
No worries if not (or if it did and you've already sent it back to me). I know the mail can be unreliable sometimes. Just thought I'd ask because I really loved this book, and was looking forward to seeing everyone else's thoughts if it's not lost, or want to buy another copy if it is. Thank you!
1y
arubabookwoman @Maggie4483 Oh my goodness. I did send it to @Kappadeemom and never heard that it wasn't rec'd, so I assumed it was. I don't think I even have the mailing receipt any more since we've moved. Please let me know if you locate this. 1y
26 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
arubabookwoman
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Pickpick

#LMPBC Loved the snippets of history as "Kepdun" Kidd read the "news of the world" while retuning a young girl captured by the Kiowa four years previously to her family. On its way to you @Kappadeemom --perfect antidote to the bleakness of The Post Office Girl. Good choice @Kimzey @Maggie4483

Kimzey @arubabookwoman I‘m glad you enjoyed it! And great timing - I just finished Kitchens of the Great Midwest. It‘s on it‘s way to you tomorrow! 2y
Kappadeemom I got it in the mail today! Thank you! 2y
31 likes2 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
The Post-Office Girl | Stefan Zweig
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I very much liked this book which I read for #LMPBC. It's a Cinderella story with a twist. The interesting thing about it is that it wasn't published until about 40 years after the author's death, and some wonder whether the author intended the story to end as it stands or whether he intended to write more. I quite liked the end. @Kappadeemom @Kimzey @Maggie4483

arubabookwoman I'm sorry I chose a different book than I originally chose. As I read Outlaws by Javier Cercas I found myself having to force myself to read it, and found it repetitious, and I didn't want to inflict it on anyone else so I chose this instead. @Kappadeemom I won't be able to get to the PO til Wednesday, but it will be on its way to you then. @Kimzey @Maggie4483 2y
Kimzey @arubabookwoman Thank you for choosing a book you enjoyed! Most considerate. 😊 I look forward to reading it! Mine will be on it‘s way to you early this week. I chose News of the World, which is good - and short! 2y
23 likes2 stack adds2 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
Defining Dulcie | Paul Acampora
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It's been a while since there's been a Dulci sighting on Litsy. She's nearly 2.

AlaMich She‘s adorable!! ❤️ 2y
IndoorDame Awww 🥰 Hi Dulci! 2y
LeahBergen Sweet girl!! 2y
See All 8 Comments
Kappadeemom So cute!! 2y
Leftcoastzen So cute! 🐶👏 2y
Megabooks What a cutie! 🤩 2y
BarbaraBB 😍😍 2y
batsy Adorable! 2y
34 likes8 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
Florida | Lauren Groff
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I've been reading these short stories off and on about my new state, mostly liking them, tho' I don't usually get on with short stories. About the orchid pictured: a year (or more ago) my son sent me an orchid plant. It arrived with no flowers (unlike what was shown in the catalogue) and when he inquired they told my son it was up to the recipient to get the plant to bloom. I don't have much of a green thumb, never saw buds, but I watered it &👇🏻

arubabookwoman ...much to my surprise when we returned from NYC last week we found this! 2y
Graywacke Beautiful flower! 2y
SamAnne I'm making my first trip to Florida next month and plan to pick this up and a Carl Hiaasen to take with. 2y
32 likes3 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
Outlaws | Javier Cercas
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Started this for #LMPBC. So far, so good. @Kappadeemom @Kimzey @Maggie4483

Kimzey Great! I look forward to reading it! 2y
22 likes1 comment
blurb
arubabookwoman
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We were in NYC last week visiting our 6th and newest grandchild, Flora Jane, born October 25 at 11:30 pm, (unwilling to wait another half hour to be born on my birthdaY). Our plane flew right over the city when landing, and I got some amazing photos, including this one.

kspenmoll That is truly amazing! I am anxious to visit the city again- it‘s been too long! 2y
Aimeesue Great shot! And welcome to Flora Jane ❤️ 2y
Leftcoastzen How wonderful! Congrats on a new grand baby! I‘ve been to NYC many times by plane yet never got a city flyover .Beautiful 2y
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cariashley Great photo, so clear!! And congrats 2y
Kimzey Happy birthday to you and welcome to baby Flora Jane! Congratulations, grandma! Nice photo. 2y
Graywacke Congrats, and terrific photo 2y
quietjenn Congratulations! I always loved flying into the city like that. 2y
batsy Fab shot! And congrats on the new addition to the family ❤️ 2y
BarbaraBB Lovely post! 🤍 2y
Megabooks Wow! Great photo! 2y
29 likes10 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
The essays of Virginia Woolf | Virginia Woolf, Andrew McNeillie
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Quote from Virginia Woolf "How Should One Read a Book?"

CarolynM 👏👏👏 Absolutely! 2y
23 likes1 comment
blurb
arubabookwoman
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#LMPBC I signed up for the Litsy Postal Book Club, and suggested translated fiction, but so far there are only 2 in our group. Any takers? It's great fun. Only a day or two left to sign up.

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arubabookwoman
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Participating in a year long read of this on Library Thing. I've fallen a bit behind and need to get back to it. Meantime, the roses were for our 51st anniversary today. (Excuse the detritus on the floor--Dulci loves to rip up paper).

vivastory Happy Anniversary 👏🎉 2y
sprainedbrain Happy anniversary! ❤️ 2y
Graywacke Beautiful roses. Happy Anniversary! 2y
See All 13 Comments
Amiable Happy Golden Anniversary plus 1! 2y
Bklover Happy Anniversary!! 2y
Kimzey Happy Anniversary! 🌹 2y
Leftcoastzen Wow wonderful! Happy Anniversary! 2y
merelybookish Happy Anniversary! 2y
BarbaraBB Happy anniversary! Such beautiful flowers and home 😍! I am sorry not to participate in @JenniferP buddyread but I couldn‘t get hold of a copy - the one I ordered never arrived unfortunately. 2y
LeahBergen Happy Anniversary! 2y
batsy Happy Anniversary! Those roses 😍🌹 2y
mcctrish Happy Anniversary 🌹 2y
CarolynM Happy Anniversary 🥂 2y
32 likes13 comments
review
arubabookwoman
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Pickpick

Wow! All I can say is Wow! And comparisons to Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell are apt.

sarahbarnes Just got this one from the library - I‘m looking forward to it. 3y
arubabookwoman @sarahbarnes It's very bleak, even devastating, at the beginning. Just be forewarned. But overall I found it hopeful, and entirely original. 3y
merelybookish That's exciting! I just started it but already feel a confidence in the writing. 3y
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arubabookwoman @merelybookish Like Cloud Atlas, there are many subtle connections among the characters/events in the chapters which at first may seem unconnected. I went back and reread/skimmed after I finished, and it was so cool to see how it all tied together. 3y
Megabooks I found it dark but hopeful too. Great review! I hope you join us for the #CampLitsy discussions. (edited) 3y
Cathythoughts Sounds good , I‘m looking forward to reading soon. 3y
34 likes6 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
A School for Fools | Sasha Sokolov

I won't be able to join our #NYRB Book Club discussion this week, but pictured is my review from when I read the book a number of years ago. Several members have commented on the difficulty of figuring out what was going on, and I found the intro to my edition very helpful. @batsy @BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes @vivastory ETA For some reason the pictures of my review is not posting. I will try to type it into the comments below:

arubabookwoman My review: To describe this book, I can do no better than to quote this passage from the introduction: 'A School for Fools is a journey through the mental landscape of a nameless, schizophrenic adolescent which he relates with the assistance of an author figure who may be the boy's older self. Through the kaleidoscopic prison of the teenager's schizoid mind, we share his bizarre perceptions and attempts to come to terms with the surrounding world. 3y
arubabookwoman The boy, who refers to himself as 'we', perceives himself and several other characters as two distinct but related persons, each with his or her own name. Much of the narrative is interior dialogue between the two halves of the boy's mind, or interior monologues ostensibly directed toward often unidentified characters. Nor can the boy perceive time, or events in time, in any fixed order; past, present, and future are random and .... 3y
arubabookwoman ...intermixed. These aberrations determine the unorthodox form of the novella. There is, in the ordinary sense, no plot, but rather an ever swirling verbal collage." My review then quoted the opening part of the first paragraph of the book, and read in the light of the above--that it is a dialogue--it sort of became understandable, My review ended with the following: 3y
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arubabookwoman [U]nderstanding that the narrative is primarily an interior dialogue between the two characters the narrator believes himself to be, the novel became a little easier to comprehend. While I think I understood substantial sections of the book, there were still many parts that went over my head. However, I still enjoyed the book, and the journey it took me on. I would recommend the book if you enjoy unconventional, difficult books, and... 3y
arubabookwoman ...you don't mind being puzzled by what you've read when you finish the book. 3y
sarahbarnes Thank you for posting this! I will say that I also enjoyed the book although I didn‘t fully understand what was happening at times. And I do love a Russian unreliable narrator and this book was a great example of that. 3y
vivastory Thank you so much for taking the time to post this! This is helpful, for sure. I typically avoid the introductions until after I finish the book. But I find it helpful to read them beforehand if I feel lost. 3y
BarbaraBB Thank you so much Deborah, it is very helpful and makes me understand better what the author means to do. 3y
batsy Thank you for sharing your review! I'm in the 3rd section now and I appreciate the bit about it being a dialogue between selves/characters. I wonder if a key part of this book is just "letting go" the need to understand or for things to make sense and instead just succumb to the wacky journey. (The notes at the end are also really interesting for all of the layers and allusions, metaphors and wordplay... That I'd definitely otherwise miss out on) 3y
merelybookish Thanks for sharing this! I'm about 40% in and finding it hard. If I get into a rhythm, I'm okay and I start seeing the repetition of images,.etc. but if I lose that, I feel lost again. But plan to soldier on! 3y
16 likes10 comments
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arubabookwoman
Brooklyn | Colm Toibin
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I'm in NYC for a couple of weeks, right now staying at my son's apt in Brooklyn where we walked over to visit this iconic library. My Seattle friends are arriving tomorrow for a week of museum visits. My son will be visiting his wife's family in Israel and they have graciously lent us their apt for the week. ETA the top got cut off, but it's the Brooklyn Public Library.

LeahBergen It sounds like you have a lovely holiday ahead of you! 3y
CarolynM How lovely! Enjoy your time with your friends 💖 3y
32 likes2 comments
review
arubabookwoman
The Unseen | Roy Jacobsen
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Pickpick

My first 5 star read of the year, this novel is the first of a trilogy set on the harsh, bleak, cold, rocky islands of the northern Norwegian coast. Life is hard, but the taciturn islanders are resilient and ingenious. I loved this book, and have gone on to read the 2nd in the trilogy, White Shadow, which I also loved.

Liz_M For some reason, this succinct review made the book more tantalizing than your longer LT review. In any case, it's been added to my library wishlist! (edited) 3y
32 likes2 stack adds1 comment
blurb
arubabookwoman
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I 1st read Solzhenitsyn in college-One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch--and I read The Gulag Archipelago shortly after it was 1st published in English. A few years ago a revised, expanded, updated version was issued in 3 volumes. I wanted to make sure I read the whole thing, so I've just purchased all 3 volumes of the new edition, 1000 or so pages each. Now to find time to read.

Suet624 I hadn't realized it was republished. I'm so glad you told us! 3y
Leftcoastzen Wow , that‘s a commitment. 3y
bnp You can do it! 3y
21 likes3 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
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It finally came! I rarely preorder books, but I did this one. An artist made one painting a day depicting the day's headlines through-out 2020, a very eventful year to say the least. Am I ready to relive 2020? We'll see.

SRWCF How cool! 3y
BiblioLitten Interesting! 3y
Megabooks Neat! 3y
Amiable Wow. I‘m not sure if I can revisit 2020 just yet. Although I love the idea of this. 3y
readordierachel This sounds so interesting, and a little intense 3y
31 likes3 stack adds5 comments
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arubabookwoman
Sunset Park: A Novel | Paul Auster
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Another gorgeous sunset!

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arubabookwoman
In the Freud Archives | Janet Malcolm
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Here's what happens when you haven't bought books in awhile, and you go online to buy the next book for the #NYRB Book Club.

vivastory Nice! Looking forward to your thoughts on them 3y
MicheleinPhilly This is why I‘ve stopped trying to do book buying bans. Because when I inevitably fail 3 weeks in, I go whole hog and spend way too much money. 3y
LeahBergen 😆😆 I love your loss of control! 3y
BarbaraBB That is a great haul! 😍 3y
bnp What an interesting mix! 🧵✴️❣️ 3y
34 likes5 comments
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arubabookwoman
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I have a question--on your profile page if you click the book symbol there is a list of books you've added or noted over the years-a "wishlist" of sorts.
How do you remove a book on this list? I'm trying to update and want to remove books I've now read or am no longer interested in. Thanks!

Nute Go to the actual page for the book and change the symbol to “read” or if wanting to delete touch the “to read” symbol so that it clears and then save. That should remove it from your Litsy Wishlist. 3y
arubabookwoman Thank you @Nute ! So simple and yet (for me) so difficult to figure out! 3y
Nute I got you, Girl!💕 3y
25 likes3 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
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Embarking on reading this #20thCenturyClassics. @Butterfinger @jmofo @sprainedbrain I 1st read it in college freshman English class in 1968. I can't imagine reading it the 1st time w/o some sort of guidance. Pictured is my shelf copy of the book, acquired in 1968 for my class. In it I found the chronological guide the prof provided us (on the right), and my handwritten family genealogy for the Compson family (left).

arubabookwoman I've reread The Sound and the Fury 3 times since 1968, so this will be a 4th reread. It's a favorite. I also love most of the other Faulkner's I've read, esp. the other novel of the Compson family, Absalom, Absalom. 3y
peacegypsy I love that you have your college notes! 3y
29 likes2 comments
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arubabookwoman
Poldark. Jeremy Poldark | Winston Graham
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#ThoughtfulThursday @Eggs Again, apologies for the delay.
1. I like unreliable narrators, as long as they are believable and ring true. Hate it when they make no sense.
2. I don't collect bookish items (other than books), but I do have a few mugs from famous bookstores I have visited.
3. I loved the Poldark series.

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arubabookwoman
Sunset Song | Lewis Grassic Gibbon
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#wondrouswednesday @Eggs Sorry to be so dilatory in responding to the tag-too much going on, but better late than never. 1. Recent photo-since moving to Fl last year we have enjoyed many wondrous sunsets, & I've taken dozens of photos. Here's a recent one.
2. I just returned from Tex for a visit with my Mom-1st time seeing her in 3 years, due to husband's transplant and then covid.
3. Grateful for family.

Cathythoughts Beautiful picture! That‘s a long time waiting to see your Mom ❤️ 3y
Eggs Thanks for joining in 🥰 3y
17 likes2 comments
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arubabookwoman
A Little Princess | Frances Hodgson Burnett
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I haven't been posting much this year-will try to do better. Back in March I posted a pic of the newest addition to our family, Dulci. Here she is today, resting from her arduous job of ruling the roost around here.

Cathythoughts Lovely! Ruling the roost indeed! These adorable creatures certainly have the power 🤔 😁 3y
CarolynM 👋 Nice to see you 3y
LeahBergen Sweet girl! ❤️ 3y
batsy Aww 😍 3y
charl08 👋👋👋 gorgeous pic. 3y
26 likes5 comments
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arubabookwoman
Howards End | E M Forster
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@Butterfinger @sprainedbrain @jmofo #20thcenturyclassics After much delay on my part, I have finally mailed 2 books to you Tammy, Howard's End and Ceremony, both great reads. I have The Sound and the Fury, and hope to finish it by November's end. You should receive the books Tuesday-I have tracking # if needed.

sprainedbrain Glad to hear from you! ❤️ 3y
Butterfinger Been missing you. 3y
16 likes2 comments
review
arubabookwoman
The Makioka Sisters | Jun'ichiro Tanizaki
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Pickpick

I am finally, very belatedly, and with many apologies sending my #20thCenturyClassics book onto you Tammy @Butterfinger . This was a lovely family saga of life in pre-WW II Japan, as a family tries to marry off the third daughter so that the youngest (and 4th) daughter can marry her fiancee. It should arrive Thursday. @sprainedbrain @jmofo

Butterfinger That is totally fine. I mailed Jessie's yesterday. I'm looking forward to it. 3y
BarbaraBB Hi Deborah, good to see you again. I hope you are doing well 🤍 3y
vivastory I'm glad to see your posts. Hope you are doing well 3y
28 likes3 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
Skylark | Dezso Kosztolanyi
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6. Chapter XIII is partially titled "the novel is concluded without coming to an end." Skylark has recognized that something has changed in her during her week away. Mother has expressed hope for change, but Father burns the "incriminating" theater stub. Miklos sees clearly the family's "suffering collected like unswept dust," yet he believes that from the greatest pain will be born the greatest happiness. Do you agree? ??????

arubabookwoman Cont'd: What is the future for this family? Will they choose life over death? Photo: Hungarian Goulash @vivastory 4y
LeahBergen I had the feeling at the end that Skylark had just fully given up on any sort of happiness coming her way in life. I also think that Mother and Father blindly took all their cues from her, possibly from parental guilt at her “ugliness”, and there is no happy ending for this family. That burning of the theatre ticket was very telling; they chose death over life. 4y
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LeahBergen And now I want some Hungarian Goulash. 😆😆 4y
vivastory @LeahBergen The scene when they first at Goulash in this book... I ended up having stew & wine for dinner that night 😂 4y
vivastory @LeahBergen Yes the burning of the ticket did feel like a final decision, symbolic as it was 4y
BarbaraBB @vivastory @LeahBergen And that Mother left her new crocodile bag behind when they went to pick up Skylark. They knew their rebellious weeks were over and there wouldn‘t be another escape from death. 4y
LeahBergen @vivastory It‘s a stew day here now. 😆😆 I fully realized the ugliness of Skylark‘s personality in the section where they discussed that she didn‘t season their food. What a monster. 😆 4y
LeahBergen @BarbaraBB Oh, I found everything about that much-coveted crocodile bag so poignant! 4y
vivastory @LeahBergen That sounds amazing! Right?! I think I even literally said out loud “Not even pepper?!“ 😂 😂 4y
BarbaraBB @LeahBergen That not seasoning was a blow for me too! I stopped sympathizing with Skylark 😀 4y
LeahBergen @vivastory @BarbaraBB 😆😆 I love that this was the final straw for all of us! 4y
Suet624 Speaking of seasoning, everything about Skylark seems to be very bland. 4y
vivastory @Suet624 🔥🔥but so true 4y
Suet624 Also, let's not get another NYRB with such an ugly cover!!! This cover creeps me out. LOL 4y
Leftcoastzen @LeahBergen love what you said about the family giving up so to speak & your comment about the 🐊 bag! 4y
vivastory @Suet624 It's not one of their best. Did you see the thread of creepy NYRB covers on my review for 4y
Suet624 @vivastory Those are so funny/creepy. Nothing but the Night's cover reminded me so much of Skylark's cover.
4y
Suet624 @vivastory Those covers are so funny/creepy. I also remember seeing Nothing But The Night's cover and thinking it reminded me so much of Skylark's cover. 4y
vivastory @Suet624 It was like a more emo version of Skylark 😂 4y
youneverarrived I just see them as continuing on as they were. That‘s the feeling I got from it. Exactly what @LeahBergen said. 4y
Tanisha_A I'd say there is no end to their misery 😂 4y
26 likes23 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
Skylark | Dezso Kosztolanyi
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5. On meeting Miklos Ijas Father thinks, "How children suffer for their parents, and parents for their children." Father marvels that Miklos can speak so openly of his pain. Do you think Father and Mother have buried themselves in the "bottomless pit" of their pain with no way out? As Miklos and Mother discuss Skylark, Father hears voices within him "louder than those without. He did all he could to drown them out." What do you think ??????

arubabookwoman Cont'd : the voices were saying, and why did Father want to drown them out? Photo: Emperor Franz Josef #NYRBBookClub @vivastory 4y
Leftcoastzen @vivastory all the tags didn‘t take 4y
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Leftcoastzen I think most people have experience with this to a smaller or greater extent . We all have friends/relatives that may have something about them we don‘t like but we ignore it for the good of the relationship.For Mother & Father it seems they have submerged a lot ! 4y
vivastory @Leftcoastzen Thanks for letting me know. I just looked at Litsy on my phone & noticed that. I entered everyone manually on the first question, so everyone has been tagged once & should find the discussion.
This is very well stated. I think this was a case of where after years of ignoring problems it finally just reached a crisis point for them.
4y
BarbaraBB I missed this question indeed. I have to think about this one because I must admit I don‘t remember the voices Father heard ☺️ 4y
Reviewsbylola I think the voices father heard are the same thoughts that eventually came out when he was drunk off his ass. Father wasn‘t ready to admit how he truly felt about skylark. 4y
arubabookwoman @Reviewsbylola I think Father has been thinking these thoughts for a long while, but blocks them out when he can because he doesn't want the consequences of admitting the pain, and maybe trying to change. Father seems to have isolated himself from even Mother and Skylark, in his study researching genealogy, and waiting for death. 4y
emilyhaldi I‘m eager to hear other takes on this scene as I‘m struggling to interpret the meaning behind this interaction. Obviously the father is stricken by Miklos‘ openness about his pain bc he and his family avoid truth and honesty at all costs. But I found it interesting that Miklos immediately saw the father‘s pain when speaking of Skylar... perhaps Miklos is so familiar with feeling shame as it relates to his father, he can also see it in others? 4y
emilyhaldi I agree with you both! @Reviewsbylola @arubabookwoman I also believe that is the reason that the Father quit drinking years ago... he feared that he couldn‘t keep his true feelings buried while uninhibited. 4y
arubabookwoman @emilyhaldi @Reviewsbylola on the one hand I saw Miklos as offering a glimmer of hope for the family. He is able to carry on despite the painful events in his past. He says out of great pain great happiness can be born. Miklos is why I felt the ending is more open-ended than many here. I just keep hoping they will change, despite all indications to the contrary. 4y
emilyhaldi I like your bright outlook ✨ @arubabookwoman Maybe the father is at least hopeful that when he and the mother are dead and gone, Skylark will be able to live a decent life on her own. I‘m too cynical to believe either of the parents will ever change... I‘m not sure they could ever be honest without hurting Skylark in the process, which they refuse to do. 4y
BarbaraBB Well said @emilyhaldi I guess that‘s why Father quit drinking indeed. And I‘m afraid nothing will change too but I hope you are right @arubabookwoman 4y
Billypar I'm sorry I missed this discussion - I finished it a little too late! I'm enjoying reading the discussion. I didn't notice that quote about the voices when I first read it, but now I wonder if he's having the same thought as Mother, whether the empathy Miklos displays means he could finally be the suitor for Skylark they've been waiting for. But they've also been disappointed so often before and they know how unlikely it is given his young age. 4y
arubabookwoman @Billypar My first thought (hope?) when Miklos appeared was also that he could be a suitor for Skylark, but then he turned out to be so much younger, and already had a girlfriend. I think Father already recognized the hopelessness, and the voices he hears were saying the things he ultimately verbalized to mother during his outburst. 4y
20 likes16 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
Skylark | Dezso Kosztolanyi
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4. Did Father's drunken outburst surprise you? Do you think he really believes the things he says? Mother tries to convince him that they love Skylark, but does she actually agree with Father? Do you think Father's characterization of Mother's response as "cheerful absurdity" is accurate? Deborah Eisenberg says the reader must accept that Skylark is ugly, and "not the sort of ugliness familiar from so much wishful literature, that is to ????

arubabookwoman Cont'd "eventually disclose a disguised beauty." Could you accept that Skylark's ugliness could cause so much pain and turmoil? Photo: Engraving of Dobozy fleeing the Turks. Mother and Father have a painting of this scene in their parlor. #NYRBBookClub @vivastory (edited) 4y
BarbaraBB @arubabookwoman I love your illustrations! 4y
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BarbaraBB In Dutch there is a saying that ‘drunk people tell the truth‘. In this case I tempt to agree. What Father says he can‘t make up I think. Those words are too harsh. And I think Mother agreed. They share the shame of feeling something parents are not allowed to feel. 4y
arubabookwoman @BarbaraBB "the shame of feeling something parents are not allowed to feel." A great way to express that. 4y
vivastory @BarbaraBB That's a great saying! I agree. Even if he & mother never discuss the words he said it will always be there between them. 4y
Suet624 I agree 100% with @BarbaraBB. Firstly, you have to be drunk to be able to say those truths. Secondly, they share the shame. Another piece I found to be sad was the fact that Mother had to hide her piano playing. What was that all about?
4y
vivastory @Suet624 I forgot about the piano playing! This was such an interesting book because it seemed like such a great take on the strict parent trope, but in this case the parent is the child 4y
arubabookwoman @Suet624 We're told Skylark wasn't very good at the piano. Maybe Mother didn't want to show her up. 4y
LeahBergen Yes, I think this is very much a case of “in vino veritas” (in wine there is truth). Father said what he never had the nerve to say before. 4y
LeahBergen Ah, yes! The piano that was locked away!! 4y
Suet624 @arubabookwoman Oh! I forgot that Skylark wasn't good at it. You're right. 4y
Leftcoastzen I‘m so glad you found that image ! The piano locked away ! You could see how resentment could fester though they made a decision to lock it up cuz she wasn‘t good at it. 4y
BarbaraBB @arubabookwoman That must be It indeed! They don‘t want to offend Skylark. But it is the other way around too, like @vivastory states, that the parent becomes the child. What a book 🤍 4y
youneverarrived I think he was telling his true feelings towards Skylark and it felt as though the mother shared those feelings to an extent but was shocked that he actually spoke about it and feels guilty/harsh for feeling that way about her own daughter so of course she tries to deflect it. 4y
emilyhaldi @arubabookwoman yes absolutely, I believe they explained that they eventually let Skylar quite piano as she wasn‘t talented and that was when they hid it away, so as not to be reminded. It seems the family lives their lives trying to bury truths but I absolutely think the father was being honest in his drunken outburst. Perhaps that‘s why he quite drinking for many years... as it was bringing truths to the surface that he didn‘t want to confront. 4y
Suet624 @emilyhaldi wow! That‘s an interesting thought that that was why the father quit drinking. 4y
Reviewsbylola I believe they were both being truthful. I think there is a duality beneath the surface where parts of skylark disappoint and disgust them. They love her because she‘s their child but they don‘t actually care for her as a person. 4y
Reviewsbylola I think you‘re exactly right @youneverarrived Mother doesn‘t want to acknowledge her true feelings so she deflected. 4y
22 likes19 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
Skylark | Dezso Kosztolanyi
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3. The foreword discusses the "babbling surface" as opposed to "silent depths" in literature. Is this book more about the "babbling surface" or the "silent depths"? How do the antics of the Panthers and the thumbnail sketches of the townspeople and their lives in a provincial town contribute to the book? Are we reading a comedy or a tragedy?
Photo: Gentlemen's Drinking Club
#NYRBBookClub @vivastory

vivastory I think it alternates between the two. It felt very genuine in that sense as I feel like that's how most people live. I loved the interactions that Mother & Father had with their community members. 4y
BarbaraBB I read it more like a tragedy. The ending unavoidable however hard they tried to deny it. Also Father never fitted in, he couldn‘t any longer be the man he used to be. 4y
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LeahBergen This is a great photo! I found the sections with the Panthers to be some much needed comic relief in an otherwise quite grim little novel. 4y
vivastory @BarbaraBB It def ended as a tragedy for sure. I think that until father's drunken outburst it was a bit of a mixture between comedy & tragedy. That scene was def pivotal 4y
Suet624 Great photo! To me the book dealt with the silent depths - clearly outlining the emotional desert of the parents. This book managed to be both a comedy and a tragedy. The presentation of the story and the characters made me chuckle but the life that the parents have lived was a tragedy. 4y
Leftcoastzen I love the Panthers scenes. I believe it was a way for these middle class gents to cut loose a bit .I think that‘s why the community takes it in stride.Such silent depths! Deflect, deny, make due , don‘t offend, then you end up where Father and Mother are. 4y
Reviewsbylola I think the babbling surface is the way Skylark and her parents live their lives day in and day out, not acknowledging their true feelings but instead putting on a false face. And then the deeper surfaces are obviously how they truly felt about each other. 4y
vivastory @Reviewsbylola I completely agree. It was fascinating to watch it swing between the two poles. 4y
GatheringBooks Like @Suet624 i thought it was comic/tragic and as @Reviewsbylola noted - both surface/depth captured fully. I felt that the strength of the narrative lies in its subtlety. It is a quiet novel and perfectly captures provincial/daily/bucolic existence. The drunken episode referenced by @vivastory def brings to light the unarticulated/implicit that drives the complicated parent-child interactions that pretend to be accepting but truly isn‘t. 4y
21 likes10 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
Skylark | Dezso Kosztolanyi
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2. Deborah Eisenberg wrote about Skylark that "we encounter lives that contain no hidden exits or negotiable margins, and we come away from the book feeling that we have experienced the inalterable workings of destiny." Do you agree? The author wrote, "I will always be interested in just one thing: Death. Nothing else....For me, the only thing I have to say...is that I am dying." Is Skylark about death?
Photo: Taroc cards
#NYRBBookClub
@vivastory

vivastory I def agree with the first part of Eisenberg's statement, but I'm not so sure about the second half. Family obligations are complicated now, it's hard to imagine what they would be when Skylark is set 4y
vivastory I do think that Skylark is about death, but I find the author's statement to be a bit glib & reductive. Death is only meaningful when contrasted with other themes. 4y
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Leftcoastzen It does seem to have death as a underlying theme. Life expectancy was shorter, a married daughter with children perhaps is like a spring or new beginning in a sense for grandparents. Skylark is staying, not pleasant, but making herself useful. 4y
Leftcoastzen I also wondered no matter how they feel about their daughter they are worried what will happen to her when they are gone. 4y
vivastory @Leftcoastzen Good point about having grandchildren. 4y
vivastory @Leftcoastzen I think it's mother & father trying to come to terms with their own regrets & the things that they have sacrificed & missed out on, but also as you said having to worry about Skylark's future as well. 4y
arubabookwoman I found the book to be permeated with references to death. The priest on the train with Skylark is "already nearing the grave." P.16; For Father, "all the future seemed to hold for certain was the prospect of his approaching death." Pp26-7. Bells rang constantly for funerals, there were 3 coffin makers in town, and " seeing all these funeral concerns, the unsuspecting visitor might have imagined that people...???????? 4y
BarbaraBB I‘m not sure about this question. I did notice how Father and Mother are referring to Skylark as their little girl while she is 36, so maybe they are denying that they are aging. Skylark‘s absence opens an unexpected possibility to go back to the persons they once used to be. With her return there is no escaping death any longer. 4y
arubabookwoman "...didn't live inSarszeg at all, but only died there." And Father has the recurring dream of finding Skylark dead. And so on. Their whole restricted life is a sort of death. 4y
vivastory @BarbaraBB I think that's true. I was actually really disappointed when she appeared at the end bc it seemed that with her absent they had a chance at a second life, even if short lived. 4y
vivastory @arubabookwoman That's def true, yet for me what made all of those images so effective was contrasting it with all of the parties & dinners etc If mother & father had just remained at home the week that Skylark was absent this would have been a far less impactful book I think 4y
arubabookwoman @vivastory Definitely the contrast of the lives Father and Mother lived while Skylark was away made a great impact. 4y
BarbaraBB @vivastory Exactly! How clever of the author that even we readers wish Skylark gone. I felt ashamed when I noticed that feeling in myself! 4y
Suet624 @arubabookwoman “Their whole restricted life is a sort of death.“ Perfect. That's the feeling that I carried throughout the book. 4y
Leftcoastzen @vivastory agree with you that Mother and Father are elated with their adventures and have regrets of what they had missed over the years 4y
youneverarrived I do kind of agree with the first bit, when Skylark comes home there is an inevitability about it - like they just go back to normal, you can tell they will settle back into the same old routine and I guess that goes hand in hand with what @arubabookwoman says - their restricted life is a sort of death. 4y
Reviewsbylola I had a college professor say once that every piece of literature is either about sex or death. That really stuck with me! I absolutely think this book touches on death very subtly. Father especially seems desperate over his own mortality. Skylark also gives hints when she references the monotony of life at the end, when she referencing waking up to another day of the same household chores and duties. 4y
Reviewsbylola Lolol @vivastory! Totally found myself wishing for a blazing train wreck so the parents could be free of skylark. 🤣🤣 4y
GatheringBooks @arubabookwoman appreciated how you took note of all death references in the novel - now that you mentioned it, there is definitely a YOLO vibe that Skylark‘s parents were exuding with Skylark away. However, it just struck me that the parents‘ alienation was largely self-imposed and also a decision they made on their own, ostensibly as brought about by their embarrassment about Skylark - which as the story progressed seems to be unfounded 👇🏼 4y
GatheringBooks Cont: esp since the neighbors didn‘t seem all that concerned about Skylark‘s presence/absence much less her appearance. It made me reflect how our decisions as human beings are often driven by perceived responses/dis/approval of people that only happen on in our heads - and we are chained by said expectations notwithstanding its being based on actual facts/reality. As a result, the characters in this story are unable to live fully. 4y
22 likes21 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
Skylark | Dezso Kosztolanyi
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1. The title of the novel is Skylark, but we spend most of it with Mother and Father. During her week away, Skylark writes a long letter to Mother and Father. What does her letter reveal to us about What kind of person Skylark is? What does Father learn reading between the lines of the letter? Why does the letter's "every word [cut] him to the quick"?
Photo: Theater in Subotica, Serbia, town on which Sarszeg is based.
#NYRBBookClub @vivastory

arubabookwoman @vivastory Scott you seem to have an easy way to tag all members. I'm hoping you will do this on the other posts??? All questions are now up. 4y
vivastory @arubabookwoman I just manually tagged them, but I'm using my laptop now so I'll see if I can copy & paste 4y
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arubabookwoman I can do it manually-I was just waiting till all questions were up. Let me know if you want me to do the tagging. Thx. @vivastory 4y
vivastory I honestly feel like I never had a sense of who Skylark was as a person. This was def a story where the absence of a character was as impactful as their presence, but all we really learned about her was what others said about her. 4y
arubabookwoman I felt, reading between the lines of the letter, that Skylark's was very judgmental of others, and as to Father and Mother, very controlling. I felt she saw herself as "martyr-like." That's why I liked the Eisenberg quote. Skylark was not just an ugly duckling, ugly on the outside only. She was also maybe not such a nice person. @vivastory 4y
Leftcoastzen I love that Father prefaced the reading of the letter with how she was educated to put out a certain type of letter. Then you wonder as @arubabookwoman notes her judgmental side and how she plays the martyr . I also remembered that the mother and father were invited, yet turned a trip down & sent Skylark instead.wondering if Father has regrets about not taking the trip. 4y
vivastory @arubabookwoman I did get the sense that she was controlling, esp with her comments about the King of Hungary restaurant. I think that she might have liked having people rely on her, as you noted her controlling side. I read the ugliness that was talked about as more metaphorical than in a literal sense. 4y
vivastory @Leftcoastzen It makes me wonder if he regrets not taking the trip bc he feels like with her being gone & enjoying their new found freedom wasn't worthwhile since it was shortlived. 4y
BarbaraBB I was surprised at the tone of voice of the letter. I went along with Father and Mother and assumed Skylark was as nice a person as described through them. It was refreshing to discover she had a mind of her own. A controlling one indeed! 4y
BarbaraBB Also I think Father dreaded reading the letter because deep in his heart he knew of course that she would be her critical self in the letter - something he hadn‘t thought about while missing her. 4y
vivastory @BarbaraBB That's a good point about being reminded of her criticism. For me at first the letter read a bit neutral in tone but the more I have thought about it the more that her controlling nature really creeped in. I often found myself thinking of Iza's Ballad while reading this, although they are vastly diff in several ways I think there's quite a few similarities 4y
Suet624 @BarbaraBB I like the idea that he dreaded reading the letter because he didn't want to hear her judgments and critical nature. I wondered how he lost the letter. He didn't throw it away, so what happened to it? And @arubabookwoman, you're right that she was ugly on the outside as well as the inside. (It's funny how hard it is for me to say she's “ugly“.) 4y
vivastory @Suet624 I was uncomfortable with the discussion about her being ugly, but it did seem like it was figurative. We know that at one point she was potentially courting someone but stopped bc he was late once (if I recall correctly). 4y
BarbaraBB @vivastory @Suet624 Yes! It‘s hard to use that word but I agree with you both that it seems to be more about her personality as a whole. 4y
LeahBergen @Suet624 I, too, wondered what happened to that letter! It seemed odd that he so quickly lost a letter that they had (supposedly) been so looking forward to. 4y
vivastory @LeahBergen @suet624 I was wondering if I had remembered correctly that he said he lost it. It was a really strange detail! 4y
arubabookwoman @Suet624 @vivastory @BarbaraBB I definitely did not think Skylark's ugliness was a symbol-I thought it was very real. However, from my 20th/21st century outlook, I had a hard time accepting that ugliness (at least physical) would cause such pain and turmoil. That's why the Eisenberg quote resonated with me. To fully appreciate the book, we have to accept Skylark's ugliness in the context of her society. 4y
BarbaraBB @arubabookwoman I think you are right about that. 4y
BarbaraBB @vivastory @Suet624 @LeahBergen I think he didn‘t want Mother to read it to protect her from what he himself felt when he read it. I don‘t think he lost the letter, he made that up. 4y
LeahBergen @BarbaraBB I think you‘re correct here! 4y
vivastory @BarbaraBB Good point. That makes sense that he'd make it up. 4y
Suet624 @BarbaraBB @vivastory @Leahbergen I just checked the section on the letter and it seems as though he genuinely thought he had it in his pocket. They looked all over for it and Father tried to suppress his irritation. I assumed he was irritated because he couldn't find the letter. But maybe he was just irritated by the letter? 4y
vivastory @Suet624 Interesting...my guess is that he was irritated by the letter 4y
Suet624 I have a question... The next to last paragraph of the introduction talks about Skylark's ugliness not being a symbol. It was unnameable anxiety. It was eternal. There was no deliverance. This paragraph really threw me and changed my idea about the book. Did anyone else have the same experience? 4y
arubabookwoman @Suet624 I took Skylark's ugliness to be very real, as opposed to merely symbolic. Here is the full Eisenberg quote that really resonated with me, the reader must accept society's edict that she is ugly, and "not the sort of ugliness, familiar to us from so much wishful literature, that is to eventually disclose disguised beauty to the sophisticated, original, or morally gifted..." ?????? 4y
arubabookwoman @Suet624 Nor is the reader to find in Skylark " a redemptive and beautiful soul. She doesn't have one. Her character--formed or deformed by her appearance and the response to it--is largely graceless." 4y
Reviewsbylola I haven‘t finished yet, so I will join the discussion later today, but I think Skylark is just as stifled by her parents as they are by her. Or perhaps just stifled by her “ugliness,” which is why she refuses to open up, such as refusing to go to the ball. Also, she seems to use taking care of her parents as a crutch. By acting like they need her so badly, she can ignore the fact that she has no place in society. 4y
arubabookwoman I also sometimes wondered whether Father and Mother misread what people thought of Skylark's looks. You know how when you're a teenager you think everyone is noticing everything that's wrong about you, while in actuality most people aren't even paying attention. 4y
vivastory @arubabookwoman Your last point above. I def got that vibe 100% 4y
vivastory @Reviewsbylola That's a fantastic point. I do think that Skylark uses her parents as an excuse. Although mother & father enjoyed their period of freedom while she was absent, it did feel like a terribly co-dependent relationship between them. I do think that Skylark is controlling, but I think that they manipulate her as well 4y
youneverarrived @Reviewsbylola this is the feeling I got too. The scene where she looks at herself (through a train window if I remember rightly?) and is so upset by it and then her crying alone at night at the end of the book - you can tell she‘s not happy as she is, and she most likely knows how society sees her so she hides behind her parents in a sense by taking care of them to the extreme. 4y
BarbaraBB @Reviewsbylola Yes! That‘s it of course. Her parents legitimate her presence. How sad. 4y
Reviewsbylola I literally just finished, and I was even more convinced of it by the end where she‘s wondering what will happen once her parents are dead. @vivastory @youneverarrived @BarbaraBB 4y
emilyhaldi I just reread Skylar‘s letter and even more so than when I read it the first time, the whole thing felt artificial. I believe Skylark feigned happiness and joy and peace throughout her stories while her father read it as transparent. He knows she‘s faking happiness and in reality is as miserable as he is. I imagine that without her parents around her she must come across even “uglier” and more awkward to others. 4y
vivastory @emilyhaldi That's really interesting! When I read her letter at first she came across as a little neutral, but I could def see what you mean about her pretending to be happy 4y
Tanisha_A Such an interesting discussion! I definitely think she was controlling, remember her mother saying Skylark didn't like going to theatre, or to restaurants, etc and that creeped up in her parents life too. But then, there is definitely truth behind her creating a wall of her parents to protect her from society's eyes. 4y
GatheringBooks Apologies for being late to the #nyrbbookclub party. Loved reading all of the comments here and resonated deeply with @Reviewsbylola comments - particularly about skylark being “just as stifled by her parents as they are by her.” I feel that much of their interactions as parent and child organically feed into and respond to each other, taking their cues from each other‘s responses, which would be a sign of codependency as everyone here noted 👇🏼 4y
GatheringBooks Everything i read here, ably moderated by @vivastory and @arubabookwoman reminded me ever so slightly of the disturbing picturebook by Danish husband and wife tandem Oscar K and Dorte Karrebæk about a dying mother who eventually took her son‘s own life for fear that no one will take care of him when she dies. While not “ugly” like Skylark, this story depicts an “idiot” (as title says) adult son with nowhere else to go and no one to care for him. 4y
25 likes39 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
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Another new book came today. This one has been on my Wishlist forever!

Suet624 Looks great! 4y
26 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
arubabookwoman
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A lot of eye candy awaits me in my new book!

mcctrish Oh I love everything Kaffe does 4y
ValerieAndBooks Any quilts in there 😊? 4y
arubabookwoman @ValerieAndBooks There are a few, but it's mostly photos of his home, studio and things that inspire him. V. beautiful. He says that in quilts he likes to use simple patterns (no intricate sewing which I like) and make the quilts all about color. Also photos of his needlepoint and knits. 4y
32 likes3 comments
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arubabookwoman
Don Quixote | Cervantes
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I've been busy. Almost 2 years post-transplant we can have pets again. Meet Dulcinea, aka Dulci. And apparently today is my 3rd Lisyversary. Time flies.

LeahBergen Ohhhhh!! What a darling! 💗💗💗 4y
JanuarieTimewalker13 So sweet!!! 4y
CBee How absolutely precious 🥰🥰🥰 4y
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Liz_M Adorable! And a lot of energy, I bet. 😂 4y
Leftcoastzen Awww! Congratulations on all of the things! 4y
TrishB Aww, a great day 👍🏻 4y
BarbaraBB Time flies. And what a cute doggie 🐶! 4y
Cathythoughts What a dote 💕 4y
BookwormM Congratulations 🥳 what a cutie 🥰 4y
MsMelissa Is Dulci a miniature schnauzer? 🥰🥰 4y
MicheleinPhilly 😍😍😍 4y
Come-read-with-me What an adorable puppy!!! Is Dulcimer a mini schnauzer? We have two of them! 4y
CarolynM What a sweetie!🐶💕 4y
arubabookwoman Thank you all! @MsMelissa @Come-read-with-me She is a Havanese, a breed from Cuba that nearly went extinct after the 1958 Cuban Revolution, but was saved by Cuban refugees to Florida. We wanted give her a name with Hispanic connotations. Dulce is sweet in Spanish, which led to Dulci, which led to her formal name Dulcinea. Yesterday my sister told me that her daughter's husband's grandmother, who is from Cuba is named Dulcinea. 4y
Come-read-with-me @arubabookwoman She is beautiful! Thanks for the lesson about the breed and the wonderful naming story! 4y
BookNAround What a precious snuggle puppy! 4y
kspenmoll Too cute! 4y
Suet624 Oh my gosh. How sweet. 💕💕💕 4y
ValerieAndBooks So cute 😍 ! 4y
charl08 I'm late to say it but adorable! 4y
vivastory I somehow missed this post. How adorable! I need to get in touch with you regarding the discussion date & questions for NYRB. I'm on GR, but I don't know if you are. Otherwise we can email one another. Let me know! 4y
arubabookwoman @vivastory I'm not on GR. I am on Librarything under same name as here. You can leave a message on my profile page there and we can exchange email addresses. If that doesn't work, I'll try to figure a way to get my email address to you. 4y
vivastory @arubabookwoman Cool. I just posted to your comment wall on Library Thing. 👍 4y
arubabookwoman @vivastory Hi Scott-just left you a message on LT. 4y
vivastory Hey Deborah, I just sent you a message on LT 4y
arubabookwoman @vivastory Hi Scott-Just left msg on LT. 4y
vivastory @arubabookwoman Got it! I just replied 👍 4y
arubabookwoman @vivastory Hi Scott-just left another message on LT. 4y
vivastory @arubabookwoman Thanks. I just replied 4y
44 likes29 comments
review
arubabookwoman
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Pickpick

I read this for Black History Month, and was blown away, tears rolling down my face at the end. Definite 5 star read, and recommended for everyone!

LeahBergen This was an amazing read. ❤️ 4y
SqueakyChu I have this book that someone donated to my #LittleFreeLibrary. I‘ll have to see if I can find it so I can keep it to read. Thanks for the recommendation! 4y
29 likes5 stack adds2 comments
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arubabookwoman
February | June Makle
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These are the books I read in February. The Sympathizer and The Tunnels of Cu Chi were for #FoodandLit #Vietnam @Butterfinger . Between the World and Me for Black History Month (and I‘m almost finished with Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody, which is wonderful).

Butterfinger I really hope you are enjoying this challenge. 4y
charl08 I've not heard of the Mississippi one. Tempting! 4y
24 likes2 comments
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arubabookwoman
Skylark | Dezso Kosztolanyi
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sisilia 😍 I vote for the one that I haven‘t read: The Child 4y
batsy All of these sound really interesting! Tough choice but I'll go with 4y
arubabookwoman I am trying to tag sarasmoore, but she is not coming up. Do I have the wrong tag? ETA-fixed it. (edited) 4y
See All 27 Comments
Suet624 Oh boy, I would be really happy with either Skylark or Transit. 4y
Leftcoastzen These all sound great! My vote 4y
merelybookish Intriguing choices! I'm going with 4y
BarbaraBB Thank you Deborah! I have already read Transit (it‘s a great choice) but I really want to read 4y
readordierachel Happy to read any of these, but I'll vote for Skylark 4y
Billypar Great choices! I'm going with Transit, but also very intrigued about Skylark. 4y
vivastory What a great selection! Voting for Transit 4y
vivastory @catebutler @daena @quietjenn The nominations are live 4y
emilyhaldi Great choices! I‘m going for the one that I already own 😉 4y
KVanRead Great choices! I‘m voting for 4y
GatheringBooks Thank you soooo much for putting this up early! Deeply appreciated. I vote for 4y
sprainedbrain I vote for 4y
sarahbarnes Great choices! I‘ll vote for 4y
Liz_M I'm also going to vote for 4y
LeahBergen Oh, this is a toughie. My vote goes to 4y
Reviewsbylola I‘m so torn but I think I‘ll go for 4y
quietjenn Not an easy choice, but I vote for 4y
daena I‘m going with (edited) 4y
mklong Great choices! I vote for 4y
Theaelizabet Tough choice! I go with 4y
catebutler For some reason, the tag didn‘t show up until just now. But, my choice would have been 4y
34 likes27 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
Go, fly a kite | Betty Modaressi
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Beautiful weather this weekend, and the beach has been more populated than usual. Today people are flying kites.

Annie1215 What a view 😍 4y
Cathythoughts ❤️ 4y
batsy Lovely. 4y
23 likes3 comments
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arubabookwoman
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For our #NYRBBookClub this month we read the tagged book. The edition I read was not a NYRB edition, but was from a British publisher. It was illustrated with lovely pen and ink drawings like the above, which enhanced my reading, I think. This depicts the wagon ride to the church picnic.

charl08 That looks really lovely! 4y
merelybookish How lovely! It seems like a book that should have illustrations! 4y
batsy I agree with @merelybookish it's a book that deserves illustrations! So pretty. 4y
26 likes3 comments
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arubabookwoman
Stormy Weather | Debi Gliori
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Rough seas and high winds today in Florida. And NYC where 3 of my 5 kids are is experiencing a blizzard.

BarbaraBB I‘d never believed this is Florida if you didn‘t say do. Hope your kids are safe. Take care 💜 4y
BiblioLitten Stay safe💕 4y
Liz_M NYC is great fun right now (says the woman that works from home and doesn't have to drive or shovel). It looks like the MN of my childhood. ☺️ (edited) 4y
arubabookwoman @Liz_M my kids are texting pictures, 1 from Brooklyn, 1 from Queens, and 1 from Msnhattan--all, like you, working from home these many months. I've always loved how the snow magically muffles the sounds of a latge city and makes everything so quiet and peaceful. 4y
23 likes4 comments
blurb
arubabookwoman
Turn of the Century | Kurt Andersen
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Among quilters at the turn of the century 1999-2000, the fad was to make a quilt with at least 2000 different fabrics in it. I made this quilt completed in Jan. 2000, with more than 2000 1 inch square, in all different fabrics, entirely handpieced and quilted. (I later discovered 1 fabric I had accidently used 2x). @ValerieAndBooks

arubabookwoman I think I photographed it upside down, but it works either way. (edited) 4y
LeahBergen That is AMAZING! 4y
Chelsea.Poole Wow!! Beautiful! 4y
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ValerieAndBooks Wow, I love it 😍 . You did a phenomenal job!! I do remember that fad. But I didn‘t do it; at that time had two little ones and a baby on the way 😊. Thanks for sharing. 4y
Centique That is incredible! What a work of art 🙌 4y
sisilia Omg this is awesome!!! 4y
33 likes6 comments
review
arubabookwoman
And Still the Earth | Ignacio D Brandao, Ignbacio De Loyola Branddao
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Pickpick

This dystopian Brazilian novel of a future Sao Paolo was written in the 1970‘s or 80‘s, I think, but it‘s absolutely chillingly conemporary, and makes 1984 look like child‘s make believe. Enter a world ravaged by climate change and unfettered environmental pollution and disaster. The rainforest is gone and is now the world‘s 9th wonder, a desert larger than the Sahara. And all governed by multinationals and “self-enrichers.” #foodandlit #Brazil

batsy Oof. So close to home. Sounds well worth reading, I just have to prepare myself for it... 4y
Butterfinger Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed it. It is so sad to know what we are doing to these wonders (forests). 4y
25 likes2 stack adds2 comments
review
arubabookwoman
Sea of Death | Jorge Amado
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Pickpick

The love story of Guma and Livia, and the lives of the people of the dockside in Bahia, Brazil. I‘ve read several books by Amado, and have liked them all. He writes of poor people, but people enthusiastic for life. His characters are real, but also mythic and heroic. “It‘s the certainty that the end will be death at sea unexpectedly some night, suddenly some night.” Recommended. #foodandlit #Brazil

23 likes1 stack add
review
arubabookwoman
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Pickpick

I‘d heard of Clarice Lispector before but never read anything by her. I was blown away by this short book: original, poetic, moving and ironic. It tells the story of Macabea, young woman “incompetent for life.” I‘ll be looking for more by Lispector, and hope you do too! #foodandlit #Brazil

ValerieAndBooks One of your quilts?? Lispector does look interesting! 4y
arubabookwoman @ValerieAndBooks Yes it is. It is a quilt made at the turn of the century-1999-2000. The idea was to include at least 2000 different fabrics in the quilt. This one includes more than 2000 different fabrics (I knew the exact # at one time, it‘s about 2100) in small squares a bit less than 1 inch in size, almost entirely hand pieced. I think I‘ll post a photo of the full quilt. 4y
BarbaraBB I read this one too and have just bought a copy of 4y
Butterfinger I enjoyed the Hour of the Star. 4y
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arubabookwoman
Family Matters | Rohinton Mistry
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I posted a pic of my mom‘s grad picture for her 90th b-day a few days ago. My sister had obtained the picture from the school. The school contacted her a few days later—my grandmother, my mom‘s mom, had graduated from the same school 21 years before my mom, and they sent along my grandmother‘s picture! My grandmother was also yearbook editor, so they sent pictures of that too.

Butterfinger Beautiful and how wonderful for you and your sister. 4y
arubabookwoman @Butterfinger Thx-and make that 5 sisters (and 1 brother)! (The sister who obtained the photos is seriously into genealogy and has uncovered all kinds of gems.) 4y
LeahBergen How wonderful!! 4y
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Centique Oh she is beautiful. How lovely to now have both pieces of that history - and what strong bright women they must be. 😍 4y
Leftcoastzen Nice! 4y
batsy 💜 4y
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arubabookwoman
Happy Birthday! | Ariel Books
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Today is my Mom‘s 90th birthday. She has COPD, but is otherwise sharp as a tack. She has always been a reader (as was my Dad), and there were always stacks of books around her chair. She doesn‘t read as much nowadays, mostly watching old cowboy movies, but I think I got my love of reading from her and Dad. Weekly trips to the library helped. This is her H.S. Graduation picture, Class of 1948.

BiblioLitten 💕 Happy birthday to your mom. 4y
Erinsuereads Happy birthday!!!!! 4y
Hooked_on_books Wow, 90! Happy Birthday, mom! 4y
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bnp Happy birthday to your mom! 4y
Megabooks Happy birthday to her!! 🎉🎉 4y
Tanisha_A Love this post! 🎉 4y
LeahBergen 💗💗💗 4y
batsy This post is so lovely. Happy birthday to your mum 💕 4y
readordierachel Happy birthday to her! 4y
ValerieAndBooks Happy birthday to your mom! 💖 4y
Crazeedi A late happy birthday to your beautiful mom, you are blessed to have her in your life💞 4y
28 likes11 comments
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arubabookwoman
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I'm reading one story a day by Anton Chekov from my 13 volume set of Chekov's Collected Stories. I loved this description of a reader "An Artist's Story" in Volume I. Does reading ever "exhaust your brain"?

bnp Yes - when I'm reading something dense, or trying to figure out what is going on. 4y
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arubabookwoman
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I‘d really like to read this, all 1950 pages. I‘m sure it will do great damage to my TBR list!

RebL For sure! Good luck! 4y
bnp I'm sure it will! 4y
24 likes1 stack add2 comments
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arubabookwoman
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Got the first shot of the covid vaccine today, and scheduled for the second shot 2/4, where I saw this beautiful old oak tree outside the clinic. Can seeing my grandkids again be far behind?

Prairiegirl_reading I truly hope it‘s sooner rather than later. 💜 4y
Liz_M 🤸💃👏👍 4y
BarbaraBB That would be wonderful. I am so happy for you 🤍 4y
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BookNAround My parents got their first shots today too. 4y
bnp Congratulations Deborah! I know you are looking forward to seeing those grandkids! 4y
Suet624 Congrats!! 4y
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arubabookwoman
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A coolish cloudy day today, with no one on the beach. Still beautiful.

BiblioLitten Happy New Year to you! 😊💕 4y
29 likes1 comment